Ricardo Geromel is the managing partner of the Fort Lauderdale Strikers. In his journey to disrupt the beautiful game, his main goals are to win championships and make the Strikers a global reference in innovation. Former Strikers players include George Best, Gerd Muller, Gordon Banks, Elias Figueroa, Nene Cubillas, Ray Hudson and other soccer legends.
Ricardo co-wrote a cover story of Forbes Magazine, featuring an interview with Dilma Rousseff, Brazil's president.
The globetrotter has worked in five continents in different sectors: as agricultural commodities trader for Noble Group, Asia's largest diversified commodities trading company, in Hong Kong, Switzerland, Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Ricardo also worked as project manager in Guinea Conakry for Bolloré Group, a French conglomerate that operates the most extensive integrated logistics network in Africa. Ricardo has also worked in the soccer industry in Beijing, China. Ricardo has been writing for Forbes since July 2011.
Fluent in five languages, Ricardo holds a a Masters in Management from ESCP Europe, Paris, and a bachelor’s degree in business management from Fairleigh Dickinson University, New Jersey.
Tips and stories ideas are always welcome. Find Ricardo in twitter @ricardogeromel

Corinthians, The Only Billionaire Soccer Club In Brazil

Brazil has 37 billionaires on the Forbes World’s Billionaires list. However, it has only one billionaire soccer club: Sport Club Corinthians Paulista. According to a study released yesterday by consulting firm BDO, Corinthians is the most valuable sports brand in Brazil, valued at R$ 1.005 billion (around US$ 500 million).

View of the construction site of Corinthians' "Itaquerao" football stadium, which will host the opening match of the FIFA WC2014, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on July 12, 2012. @ Yasuyoshi Chiba /Afp/GettyImages

According to the 2012 evaluation, the consolidated value of the 17 most valuable brands of soccer clubs in Brazil is R$5.38 billion (around US$ 2.7 billion). Corinthians leads the ranking for the third consecutive year. In the first survey in 2004, the team appeared behind Sao Paulo and Flamengo with a brand value of R$286 million. Luis Paulo Rosenberg, responsible for marketing in Corinthians, and Andrés Sanchez, Corinthians former president, are considered by many as the key people responsible for such an impressive growth.

Sport Club Corinthians Paulista is going through one of the best moments in its history. The 101-year-old club is in the process of finally having its own stadium: with estimated costs of R$850 million (around US$417 million), “Arena Corinthians” – informally called Itaquerao - is promised to be ready to host the opening match of the FIFA World Cup in 2014. Corinthians is the current champion of Brazil’s competitive national championship and of Copa Santander Libertadores, Latin America’s version of the UEFA Champions League. The comparison between Libertadores and UEFA Champions league is complicated since sports business is still underdeveloped in Latin America. For instance, while Corinthians received US$ 5 million for winning Copa Libertadores, Chelsea cashed in US$ 80 million for winning the UEFA Champions League.

The study takes into account data from financial statements of the soccer clubs in 2011 as well as marketing numbers in early 2012. Titles won this season, such as the Copa Santander Libertadores in the case of Corinthians, and the consequent importance for the value of the brand will only be included in the 2013 study. Therefore, the second most popular club in Brazil, with over 25 million fans, will probably have an even higher brand value next year.

The methodology used by Forbes to compile our World’s Billionaires ranking is explained by my boss Kerry Dolan here. By the way, the 37 Brazilian billionaires are measured in dollar terms. The consulting firm BDO, which is present in 119 countries, employing 47,000 people in 1.082 offices worldwide, also explained their methodology: “we followed a strict metric that includes 18 different variables between the clubs historical financial data, information published in polls with fans, sports marketing data, fans consumer habits and social and economic data of the market in which the clubs analyzed act.” The financial information used was based on financial statements of clubs between 2003 and 2011 and resources from transfers of athletes were not considered. Survey data and other information were used according to the evolution of the studies until the most recent editions. Projections of future scenarios of the clubs were conducted considering the reality of each entity.

Guilherme Costa, who works at Maquina do Esporte, the biggest media group about sports business in Brazil, explained that Nike, Ambev Fisk, and Tim currently have contracts with Corinthians. However, the club is still looking for a main sponsor. Will this evaluation help the club to get record-breaking sponsorship contracts with companies that want to associate their brands with Brazil’s only billionaire soccer club? Let’s wait and see…

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Nice Ricardo, I could only add a thing: Corinthians was always a gigantic sleeper, the club with more fans in the by far most rich state in Brazil. So, the responsibles for the marketings only did a good job, not a miracle. As we fans say: “Apenas colocou o time no seu devido lugar”.

CORINTHIANS SMALL CLUB FROM SAO PAULO! , BELOW IS OF SAO PAULO FC, PALMEIRAS AND SANTOS, HAS 23 MILLION FANS AND NOT 30 MILLION, IS BUILDING A STADIUM WITH PUBLIC MONEY TO HELP THE FORMER PRESIDENT, LULA, CORINTHIANS HAVE JUST 1 TITLE OF SPEECH WAS THE CHAMPION LIBERTADORES AMERICA IN 2012, HIS FIRST TITLE IN MORE IMPORTANT THAN 100 YEARS, NOW I WILL SHOW YOU A MATTER OF A JOURNALIST conceptualized, NEWS OF 1 BILLION THIS iS A HOAX BECAUSE THE COMPANY THAT PRODUCED THIS MESSAGE iS A DIRECTOR OF OWN CORINTHIANS, THEN DO NOT HAVE ANY CREDIBILITY.

READ THIS!

Corinthians company that evaluated more than $ 1 billion belongs to the chief financial officer CORINTHIANS

Circulated throughout the day yesterday the information passed on by his own advisory company who did the study to the press, that the Corinthians has the most valuable brand in Brazil, valued at over $ 1 billion.

It is quite possible, even likely, that the Club Parque São Jorge is actually placed in the first research on this subject.

The Corinthians supporter, passionate, tired of doing shows his passion for the club and really consumes a lot of products tied to your brand.

However, it is difficult to believe the huge difference in the numbers quoted for the club’s next, not the impossibility that may actually be correct, but highly suspect by the agency director of research.

The BDO / RCS has as its majority owner the finance director of Corinthians, Raul Correa da Silva, in his name with initials “RCS” that nominam the company.

It is inconceivable, therefore, that many media outlets reporting on a study in yesterday, have not only omitted the information they received advice from the material ready, but also the company’s umbilical connection with the Corinthians.

The consulting firm that completed this study seems to be credible: BDO is present in 119 countries, employing 47 thousand people in 1.082 offices worldwide. I have checked with Brazilian peers and, indeed, Raúl Corrêa da Silva is both CEO of BDO AND finance director of Sports Club Corinthians Paulista. Altough, this fact does raise some concerns about the credibility of the study, the study was largely reported by the Brazilian press.

Ricardo, it’s is a clear conflict of interests here, not to mention the ethical issue. Reminds me the story of Henry Paulson and the AIG bailout, largely watched by the public opinion and still very obscure.

Ricardo! Let me make one small correction: the name of the stadium for Corinthians which is under construction is not “Itaquerão” as informally some members of the Brazilian press insist on writing, but “Arena Corinthians.” And is “Arena Corinthians” until some company close agreement naming rights.